Author: webconlt

Nowadays, it is not improbable for a person to work in front of a computer the whole day, mostly sitting at one position for hours on end. A sedentary work environment has been found to have negative impacts on our health and fitness. There are ways to avoid these unhealthy complications and it’s as easy as making intelligent choices in the food we eat, how we manage out time and the activities we engage in during the workday.

Aim To Eat Healthy At Work

If ever you experience an attack of the “munchies,” stay away from sugary sweets and drinks. Drinking lots of water will help you rehydrate. That bowl of candies? Better dump them in the trash and replace them with nuts. Nuts are full of healthy fats rather than unhealthy fats from candy. It will have the same effect of placating your stress and hunger in a much healthier way which can lead to weight loss. Or have a protein shake to keep you going and leading you less into temptation. Tupperware is your friend. Healthy leftover food from last night is a healthier lunch alternative than food ordered from restaurants. Learn to say “No” when unhealthy snacks are being passed around the office.

Allot Time For Physical Activities

One problem with working in front of a computer all day is that you are mostly sitting down in one position. Inactivity leads to fat build-up. Set your phone to remind you every hour to spend at least 5 or 10 minutes engaged in simple exercises to relieve the tension in your muscles. Do targeted exercise for muscles that remains immobile during work. You can also spend around 10 to 20 minutes of your lunch hour just walking around as a form of physical activity. Alternatively, there are office furniture that allows you to engage in physical activities while working such as a standing desk, a treadmill desk or a balancing chair to engage those muscles that remain unused while sitting down for long periods of time.

Staying Committed To Your Goals

Commitment is the name of the game. However grand your desires may be to stay healthy, your goals will remain unreachable without commitment. Distractions – deadlines, meetings, co-workers – will oftentimes crop up and you must encourage yourself to stay committed in your goals. Set-up, and stay committed, to a time management plan. Never swamp yourself with overlapping work targets that will contribute to a stressful work environment. The more stress you experience, the easier it is to stray away from your goals.

We all now live in what is called the digital age. A slew of gadgets and gizmos are available today that were not in existent even ten years ago. As it is, it is the younger generation that tends to adapt to this emerging technologies much faster than those who were born a generation ago.

Studies have been done on this issue and it has been shown that early exposure on these devices and emerging technology have more negative effects than positive benefits. Slow development, short attention span, difficulty in sleeping are some of the negative effects that were found. It also leads to less physical activities, interference with school work, aggression, obesity and exposure to inappropriate content.

Children that are under the age of two should not have any exposure to technology. Children at this age should learn by real-world experiences and interactions. They should be exploring their surroundings by utilizing their senses and indulge in physical activities that will promote motion development.

In a supervised environment, children from 3 to 5 years old should only have one hour of exposure to these technologies. It recommended that screen time should be from exposure to television programs that are educational and age-appropriate. From 6 to 12 years old, the exposure should be not more than two hours per day. For older children, they can be introduced to handheld devices such as tablets smartphones but parents should see to it that the apps that they are accessing are age-appropriate, educational and should be used for not more than two hours a day.

At the end of the day, it is still the parents that are responsible in supervising their children being exposed to these technologies.

When you’re stuck inside your office five days each week, hunched over a computer keyboard and staring at a screen, there’s little time in your day to fit in a workout routine. With busy schedules, after-work tasks to tackle, and the stress and physical aches of work lasting long after your shift is over, trying to exercise can feel like an impossible task. However, it’s important to reverse the damaging effects of sitting at work all day long by working out and staying active; you just need to fit it into your busy life. That’s where your smartphone can come in handy – instead of scrounging together minutes, certain apps can help you stay fit while at work. Check out these apps to maintain your exercise routine in the office.

OfficeYogaMD

What’s better than fitting in a quick helpful stretch while at your desk to reverse all of that slouching and slumping? OfficeYogaMD is the app that can fix both your posture and improve your flexibility, all without you having to slip on some workout clothes. Download this app, and you’ll have helpful poses that can realign your spine, guide you to better posture in your desk chair, and even fix neck and head issues. On top of all of this great help, OfficeYogaMD also helps its users increase their flexibility with a variety of poses.

Office Stretches

Need to stretch out your wrists, your legs, or even your neck? The Office Stretches app can fix all of the tension, aches, and discomfort that come along with sitting in your office all day long. It’s an app that focuses solely on stretching out your entire body; no cardio or odd office workouts here. Just choose how much time you have to stretch, and the app will generate a “workout” that improves your flexibility and get you moving. Additionally, you can use the app as a fitness reminder: set alerts in Office Stretches, and the app will notify you when you’ve been sitting for too long.

Office-Fit

If you want to increase your office workouts beyond a few stretches and a daily walk, Office-Fit is your app. Choose from its many different workout routines – whether you want to remain seated at your desk, or have the time to get up and stand, there are countless options – and set the length of time you’d like to exercise for. The app will then generate a specialized workout that matches your specifications. With a timer to ensure you get a great workout and clear visual guides for every move, it’s an app that can get you moving without having to hit a gym.

Heading outside into the bright, UV-loaded rays of the sun or the frosty and dry winter wind does an awful lot of damage to your skin. Staying out of the elements is a smart move – but staying inside for long lengths of time can cause problems for your skin as well. If you spend your days stuck inside, staring at your computer screen while at work, your office environment is wreaking havoc on your skin without you even realizing it. Although it’s a controlled and enclosed space, there are a variety of indoor elements that can cause long-term skin damage. Here’s how to minimize the harmful effects of your workplace on your skin.

Get Some Fresh Air

If you’re trapped inside a temperature-controlled office five days a week, the air conditioning that keeps you cool is problematic for your skin. Air conditioning dries out the skin, as AC systems work to keep the air cool by removing any humidity present. So, although it may feel great to not sweat, your skin is slowly drying out and appearing duller with the onslaught of altered air. Fight this by taking time each day to go outside and feel the fresh, outdoor air. It will help instill some of that missing humidity, and allow your eyes to take a break, too.

Make Sure To Moisturize

Thanks to both air conditioning and heating systems, your skin can be dry from sitting inside an office year-round. It’s important to add moisture back into your skin so it can stay youthful and elastic. Do so by keeping a moisturizer or lotion handy – apply often, both to your face and the rest of your body. Take extra care of the areas that are frequently exposed to the workplace “elements”, like your hands and elbows, as these can be the driest. Additionally, try to drink more water. When there’s more water in your body, your skin is better able to rehydrate itself and prevent dryness.

Make Your Own Humidifier

You can do your skin health favors by creating your very own humidifier at work to combat the controlled air inside. Fill a bowl with water, or a large water bottle left uncapped, and place it on your desk. This surrounds you with humid air, as the dry air will pull the water from the bowl or open bottle to create more humidity. If you don’t want to look weird, hide the bowl in a corner – no matter where you keep it, your skin will thank you.

There are a thousand and one reasons why we gobble on food. Of course, they are always tempting and one more bite won’t hurt, right? We keep on consuming food while we exercise less that we end up becoming more than what our body size should normally be. If we do not step on the brake pedal, we might just balloon into a person we do not want to be – obese and overweight.

What’s wrong with being overweight? Besides it being very uncomfortable sitting in front of the computer for long periods of time, there are many negative consequences in allowing ourselves to go beyond what is required of our normal body mass index (BMI). Let us take a closer look on the adverse effects of obesity on our body and our self-esteem.

Health Risks: Heart Disease and Other Ailments

This is a known fact that when we become overweight, we are prone to various diseases – heart problems, diabetes, hypertension, liver and kidney diseases, and possibly cancer. The list goes on. That is the primary alarm, and the more obvious point, when we allow our bodies to go beyond our natural proportions.

Dermatological Effects: Skin Tags and Stretch Marks

As our body expands, so does our skin, the largest organ of our body. When one is overweight, the body stores fats that are more than what it can carry. This produces body folds. Friction between skins happens during movement. When skins rub against each other, skin irritation occurs which result to small growths, called skin tags.

If not small flesh growths, lines or ridges may appear on the skin. These are stretch marks. When skin is stretched, the body produces more cortisone, which leads to the skin losing elasticity. Stretch marks also cause discoloration on the affected part of the skin. There are cures for stretch marks available but their results vary greatly and make sure you do your research before attempting any solution.

Psychological Aftermaths: Anxiety and Low Self-Esteem

The side effects of being overweight are not just contained in the physical sphere. There are also psychological impacts to the person. Getting too fat can sometimes cause depression and low self-esteem. Worse, most obese people are subject to bullying. Modern society now dictates that the compass for beauty is someone who is slender and slim. So when the pendulum swings to the extreme opposite, one cannot help but feel anxious about being overweight.

Quite a significant number of people are tied to their desks working either online or at the office. However, being stuck at the desk in front of a computer may be detrimental to our health especially if we are making bad decisions on what we snack on during the workday (or night). Most often, we eat because we crave on something, we are bored, we are stressed out or we simply feel sluggish and tired.

It’s time to make changes and choose healthy and delicious foods that can boost your energy and you have plenty of options.

Fresh fruits

If you crave for something sweet, the natural sugar found in fruits should be able to satisfy that. It is fiber-enriched and it keeps your sugar levels steady. If you don’t want to eat them as it is, a fruit smoothie is another option.

Nuts

Get a pack of your favorite nut or a variety of cashews, almonds, peanuts or hazelnuts as a snack. They are rich in magnesium and this mineral aids in the conversion of sugar into energy.

Popcorn

If you find yourself craving for chips, snacking on popcorn is a way better option. Its whole grain and low in calories. It also has fiber that prevents your blood sugar to crash which usually happens when you consume simple carbohydrates.

Peanut butter on a whole wheat toast

Although peanut butter is high in calories, it has healthy fats and it can provide you with energy to get through the day. It’s yummy too! Who can resist that?

Healthy Protein Bars

There are different types of protein bars made available to anyone. Some promote weight loss or gives you a dose of essential vitamins. Try and find healthy protein bars that can help you fight off fatigue and reduce stress. Aside from it being a healthy snack option, it is also very convenient to pack and keep inside your office drawer.